ahead at the road in front of them. Wildly hinting that having been friends in school should lead to more…?
She focused back on his earlier question. “I’m trying to figure out the house thing. After Ben died, I was glad I didn’t have to be alone. But I think this might be a good time to make a move. At some point, Rafe and Laurel need a place of their own.”
“You want to move out?” He pulled into Traders, the place full enough that they had to park at the far end of the lot. “Hang on until I’m there.”
Dana paused in the middle of opening her door, wondering at the bubbles popping in her gut.
Up until now, it had been a slightly awkward yet normal exchange, but as Mark opened her door and helped her down, these were most definitely date feelings she was experiencing.
Mark held out his elbow, and she wrapped her fingers around his biceps, the position closing the gap between them as he led her across the parking lot. He picked up the conversation again. “So, are you house hunting?”
She shook her head. “I considered building a small place, sort of like Gabe made himself at the start. You can see where they’ve added on to his original cabin. But then I think about it harder, and if anyone should have a new house, it should be Laurel and Rafe.”
“Why not both? You and them?”
Dana laughed. “Because that doesn’t fit the budget.”
He pulled open the pub door. She walked in ahead of him, this side of the pub with multiple tables and seating areas, the pool tables at the back of the room. The volume was a low buzz instead of the high roar found on the dance hall side, so the sudden swell of voices was unexpected.
“Well, damn.” Mark tugged her little closer, helping her catch her balance when she realized the entire middle section of Traders was filled with Colemans.
Dana glanced at him. “I didn’t tell anyone.”
He shook his head. “Not me. Damn Coleman hive mind.”
An instant later, his oldest brother stood in front of them. Mike grinned as he glanced between them. “What can I get you to drink?”
It was not at all what she had expected, but after that initial panic-induced moment when she realized there would be no keeping any secrets from the family, Dana discovered she appreciated the interference.
Mark brought her to the table and sat next to her, the pair side by side as friendly banter swirled around them. Mike and Marion, Randy and Kate. George chatted with Daniel and Beth Coleman from the Six Pack side, while Mike’s twins and their wives circled around the activity. The girls drank pop while Jesse and Joel hovered protectively, hands resting on pregnant bellies every now and then.
It was relaxing, except that every time Mark moved, his thigh nudged against hers and shivers slid up Dana’s spine. That same thrill hadn’t gone away just because she’d gotten older.
And when he leaned close, his whisker-roughened cheek brushing past hers as he whispered, “Would you like to dance?” in her ear, literal goose bumps hit.
Maybe the family thought they’d been interfering, but the short interlude of being absolutely surrounded and supported had been exactly what she needed. The perfect dose of connection to shake away the fear and uncertainty.
She wanted this. So she should take it.
Clearly to his utter shock, Dana caught Mark’s hand then tugged him to his feet before turning to the rest of them. “We’re going dancing. We don’t need chaperones.”
A lot of masculine chuckling followed her comment.
Dana ignored them all, keeping a tight grip on Mark’s hand. He followed her willingly across the room into the opposite side of the pub and onto the dance floor.
That first moment when he twisted her toward him and brought his arms around her—
She could barely breathe. Didn’t really want to. It was like opening a fresh page on a brand-new journal, with so many pristine, blank opportunities going forward. Part of her was afraid of making a mark, of doing something that would mar the experience.
He moved her against his body, swaying in time to the music, and it was so strangely familiar and right that fear slipped away, and happiness warmed her, inside and out. She wasn’t going to worry if she made a few mistakes. Hope had said it—Dana was allowed to want a good, close friend in her life who wasn’t family or someone who had been around forever.